Curriculum and Instruction Commons^™

Session A-3: Across The Wide Missouri: Illinois & Early Exploration Of The Trans-Mississippi West, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Professional Learning Day

Illinois History is often perceived as a contradiction in terms. Until the arrival of Abraham Lincoln, most folks think that nothing of any note happened here. This presentation will address the French traders and explorers from the Illinois Country who pushed west up the Missouri and Arkansas Rivers in the century preceding Lewis and Clark's more famous jaunt. The two knew of these French travelers only too well and recruited a half dozen Illinois French at Fort Massac and Kaskaskia to show them how to get to the "unknown". The effect these men had on the Plains was profound.

Session A-4: National Archives Resources And The Common Core, Kris Maldre Jarosik

Professional Learning Day

Discover the online resources of the National Archives and learn how they can support Common Core standards and help build the literacy skills of your students. We will explore sample U.S. history activities relating to the Civil War, American Indians, and World War II during this session.

Pbl Waste Not Want Not: Using Agricultural Plant Waste, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

Teacher Resources

This sample Problem Based Learning (PBL) lesson focuses on the best use for agricultural waste, using an apple orchard as the hypothetical problem. The unit is designed as a sample curriculum for educators learning the PBL process.

Using Inquiry To Teach Microscope Skills, Susan Styer

Faculty Publications & Research

One of the first lab activities often done in a high school biology course is learning to use the microscope. As it is typically described in laboratory manuals, there is no inquiry involved in this activity. Students learn the parts of the microscope and information explaining its operation. There may be a review of the metric system. Then students examine cells, often to observe the difference between plant and animal cells. Students may be instructed to prepare wet mounts and do simple staining. All of these are important skills to have in order to use the microscope correctly, but it …

Imitism: Learning Imagism Through Imitation, Nicole Trackman

Understanding Poetry

Students will learn the components of Imagism through works of William Carlos Williams and D.H. Lawrence. As authors, students will demonstrate their understanding of this poetic movement through an imitation of either Williams’ poem “This is just to Say” or Lawrence’s poem “Green”.

Integration Of Student Centered Physiology Learning Into Related High School Science Courses, Sowmya Anjur

Faculty Publications & Research

Student centered teaching was previously found to enhance student understanding and even improve performance of students in other courses taken in the same semester in high school (6). In an effort to improve student performance in related science classes, the same student centered methods used in my Physiology and Disease (PAD) class were implemented in a Biophysics class this semester. Initial student surveys showed that students felt that integrating physiology concepts into Biophysics helped them understand the material from two very different perspectives, giving them a "more complete picture". Test scores from each of the four units were compared in …

Session D-2: Including World Religions In World History, Christian D. Nokkentved

Professional Learning Day

The major religions of the world are fascinating and belong in world history curricula, but can be challenging; especially if students are to be given the opportunity to read in the scriptures of diverse religions. This presentation will provide participants with a structure and suggested resources for setting up learning experiences that will facilitate student discussion of basic texts.

Session E-5: Anatomy Of A Learning Network, Tracy Miller

Professional Learning Day

In recent news articles, debates have challenged the quality of online classes vs. face-to-face. Participants will “storyboard” an online experience based off a typical classroom lesson and discover if they can create their own online extension activity. Get ready to work your creativity muscle in hopes of navigating the online frontier. March 2^nd, be part of a learning network! If you liked “Putting the ‘e’ in Learning” from last year, consider this your next step.

Session E-1: Self-Paced Proficiency Based Physics – Updates And Extensions, Brooke Schmidt, Eric Hawker

Professional Learning Day

This presentation will cover how a typical introductory physics course has been transformed into one that is self-paced and proficiency graded. The changes were made so that each student would be challenged at his/her level and therefore be more engaged in the course. This structure allows the teacher to individualize instruction of the students. The presentation will also cover adjustments that were made to this model based on student feedback and experiences. The model used to make this course self-paced and proficiency graded should be transferable to other courses.

Session C-1: The U .S. Civil War: Global Perspectives, Steven Buenning

Professional Learning Day

In Lincoln’s words, the Civil War would preserve the United States as “the last, best hope of earth”. A crucial turning point in U.S. history, the Civil War, was also an important global event. Viewed from broader economic, political, cultural, and social perspectives, the causes and consequences of the Civil War resonated worldwide. By using recent scholarship, this session will provide a context for helping students understand the place of the Civil War in global history. An original, document-based question will be presented, along with teaching methods developed by an AP history exam reader.

Session C-2: Social Media And Crowdsourcing For Educators, Shawn Mccusker

Professional Learning Day

What if you had the ability to brainstorm with the best educators from around the country, sharing ideas, materials and strategies to create the best lessons possible? This is a reality. Using social media like Twitter and various web technology, teachers from all fields are generating peer reviewed and "crowd-sourced" resources that are available for free online. This process has recently been featured in the New York Times and the Washington Post as the leading edge in educational professional development. Most importantly it will save you time. Find the best resources faster and have more time for student instruction. Learn …

Session D-6: Teaching Modern Physics, Peter Dong

Professional Learning Day

Modern physics is an excellent way to get students interested in physics – the “weirdness” of relativity and quantum mechanics captures the imagination. This presentation discusses how to teach the subject in a way that encourages this interest. This year’s session will focus on teaching quantum mechanics in a way that is interesting to students and avoids common misconceptions.

Session D-3: Discrete Mathematics: A Great Curriculum Connector, Donald Porzio

Professional Learning Day

Many topics that fall under the umbrella of Discrete Mathematics cut across the traditional high school curriculum areas of algebra, geometry, and pre-calculus. Come try some classroom-ready hands-on Discrete Mathematics activities that illustrate the true interconnectedness of mathematics.

Session B-2: Docsteach – An Online Tool For Teaching With National Archives Documents, Kristina Maldre

Professional Learning Day

The latest National Archives web site, DOCSTEACH, invites teachers to explore thousands of documents in a variety of media from the National Archives holdings – items such as George Washington’s draft of the Constitution, photographs capturing WPA and Civil Rights activities across the country, and Ronald Reagan’s “Evil Empire” speech. This session will provide educators with an overview of DOCSTEACH and help prepare them to create and use primary-source based, interactive learning activities with their students.

Session B-1: The Prize: Teaching Early Illinois History To Secondary School Students, Claiborne A. Skinner Jr.

Professional Learning Day

This presentation will outline ways in which Illinois can be placed at the center of the story of colonial America and the events which triggered the Revolutionary War. The discussion will be accompanied by a bibliography of relevant secondary readings for instructors, lists of public domain primary sources for students, websites where these can be obtained, lists of Illinois historical sites connected to these materials, and suggestions as to how to interpret these sites for students.

Session C-1: What Goes Up Must Come Down – Are All Parachutes Created Equal, Mary Lou Lipscomb, Elizabeth Martinez

Professional Learning Day

Participants engage in a guided inquiry: making a parachute and investigating its falling behavior; then develop a list of questions about the behaviors and determine which are testable. Next, small groups each choose one question to test and do so. Finally participants reflect on the process skills used. Although designed as a professional development activity, the lesson may be used with students to focus on testable questions or process skills necessary for scientific investigation.

Session A-1: Environmental Chemistry – Chemistry In Context, Branson Lawrence

Professional Learning Day

The use of the ACS curriculum combined with group and individual projects to teach entry level chemistry through the context of environmental chemistry.

Session C-2: Putting The “E” In Learning, Tracy Miller

Professional Learning Day

Find out about web resources you can use with your class. Think creatively in designing an interactive environment to help foster collaborative teamwork. Wikis, blogs and electronic portfolios: what it all means, and how to meet students’ learning objectives.

Session A-2: Leaders In World History: Role Play And Essay Writing, Steven Buenning

Professional Learning Day

Costumed students role-play world leaders in a classroom-tested simulation. This extended exercise builds skills in critical thinking, research, essay writing, oral communication, small group interaction and technological application. In the process, students develop their own ideas about the characteristics of a good leader.

Session A-1: The Cuban Missile Crisis: Understanding The Impact Of Personality On Leadership, Lee Eysturlid

Professional Learning Day

This session will explore the impact of the various types of personalities that were involved in the Cuban Missile Crisis. These differences had a direct impact on the way each leader reacted to the stresses and demands of the crisis as well as their own political objectives. Attendees will come away with an immediately teachable topic on world leadership and the Cuban Crisis as an event.

Preparing Students For Careers That Do Not Yet Exist, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), as a self-described "teaching and learning laboratory for imagination and inquiry," has a history of pursuing innovations closely aligned with the vision and framework of the National Science Education Standards. Innovations include both methods and materials for inquiry-based student instruction as well as for delivering professional development for pre-service and practicing teachers. Instructional innovations described include yearlong student inquiry and research projects (SIR), self-paced physics instruction, student-driven energy and engineering projects, instruction in innovation and entrepreneurialism, and a host of student-led outreach activities to "ignite and nurture creative, ethical, scientific minds of students …

Our History: Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy, Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy

IMSA History

The internationally recognized Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) develops creative, ethical leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. As a teaching and learning laboratory created by the State of Illinois, IMSA enrolls academically talented Illinois students (grades 10-12) in its advanced, residential college preparatory program, and it serves thousands of educators and students in Illinois and beyond through innovative instructional programs that foster imagination and inquiry. IMSA also advances education through research, groundbreaking ventures and strategic partnerships.

2b: "Copy Of Carbon Dioxide Data Illinois Natural Gas", U.S. Energy Information Administration

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

No abstract provided.

2b: "Copy Of Carbon Dioxide Data Illinois Totals", U.S. Energy Information Administration

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

No abstract provided.

2b: "Copy Of Carbon Dioxide Data Illinois Petroleum Products", U.S. Energy Information Administration

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

No abstract provided.

2b: "Copy Of Carbon Dioxide Data Illinois Coal", U.S. Energy Information Administration

Ecosystem Disruption & Climate Change

No abstract provided.

Extreme Math Makeover: Mathematics Assessment And Reporting In The Era Of The Common Core Standards, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Publications & Research

This presentation discusses the need to develop high quality performance based assessments of the Common Core Mathematical Standards and Mathematical Practices. Several examples of performance assessments from high achieving countries as well as from the 2009 PISA test are included.

Loving The World And Our Children Enough--Nurturing Decidedly Different Scientifc Minds, By Design, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Publications & Research

Wise world-shaping and problem-solving requires that we and our children think in decidedly different, integral and wise ways. This transformation requires a fundamental shift in consciousness and the emergence of global minds that can creatively live into a new worldview of an interconnected planet and a sustainable and interdependent human family. "The fullness of our humanity and the sustainability of our planet rest with the nurturing of decidedly different minds."

The Complexity Of Reform Efforts In Science Curriculum And Instruction: A Case Study Of The Illinois Mathematics And Science Academy Chemistry Teacher, Tang Wee Teo

IMSA History

This study explores how teacher-initiated site-based reform in a specialized STEM school is conceptualized and enacted, how and why curriculum reform ideas change in the process of enactment, what qualities of teacher agency are entailed, how these qualities are acquired, interplayed, become generative, and/or are influenced to effect different curriculum reform outcomes, and how different conditions support and further teacher agency to make a more defensible curriculum.

In a critical case study of a highly experienced and qualified science teacher, I follow a teacher who initiated efforts to reform the advanced chemistry curriculum. This teacher wanted to make the curriculum …

Assessing Differences In Students' Experiences In Traditional Versus Scientific Teaching-Based Biology Course, Sarah O'Leary-Driscoll, Susan C. Styer

Faculty Publications & Research

Introduction:

The Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA), located in Aurora Illinois, is a public, three- year residential high school for students who are academically talented in mathematics and/or science. Students apply in their freshman year and are chosen based on test scores and grades as well as other accomplishments, such as extracurricular projects or performances. About 10-15% of the sophomore class enters IMSA from the eighth grade.

The sophomore program consists of three content- based, one-semester core courses in biology, chemistry, and physics, and one methods-in- science course. Sophomores take two science classes per semester. About 80% of the …